dahlia

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  1. Like
    dahlia reacted to Grunt in Does Character Matter?   
    Character still matters.  However, it isn't the ONLY thing that matters.
  2. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Just_A_Guy in Fasting - some questions   
    Hey Strangers  😄  -   I have a question about fasting.
    I have been unable to do a full 1st Sunday fast since I joined the Church because I take insulin and my endo told me not to fast. OK. Fast forward a few years, my diabetes is better controlled, I do IF and skip breakfast anyway, and rarely have to take any insulin in the morning. I have been able to fast in the morning on Fast Sundays for months now. 
    Because of these medical issues, I haven't fasted the way members say they do - like if there's a problem, or someone else is sick, etc. Since I'm retired, am at home, and have a bit more control of what I'm doing. Most people don't realize that medication dosing for diabetes entails a combination of food intake, activity levels, started blood sugar, etc. I don't want to fast if for 2 meals if I am running around town because I'll get scary low blood sugar, which has happened.  
    Anyway, I'd like to fast for someone who is having surgery. I may have to drink some almond milk to get me thru, but I'd leave it at that and try to an all day fast - from after dinner to 5-ish the next evening.
    Questions:
    Is that enough? Do you tell someone you are fasting for them? Not being able to fast has caused me real concern over the years as I frequently felt not completely Mormon because I couldn't / didn't fast. I hope I can do a 'real' fast, but I might never be able to do so. I'm thinking I can struggle through a day, tho. Thoughts?
    Off topic, how y'all are?
  3. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Just_A_Guy in Would you list a mission on a resume?   
    Maybe along a similar line - Years ago, I was looking for shared office space to practice law. My resume at the time included working with the HIV/AIDS coalition of the city's bar association, doing estate work for this population. This was fairly early on, before the AIDS cocktail had started to change life expectancy. I had one guy tell me to take it off of my resume. People would wonder why I was associated with this group - was I gay? Did I have AIDS? Without a personal connection, why would I be working with these people? Would AIDS patients be coming into the office?
    I guess the idea of providing legal work for those who needed it was an ethical concept that escaped him. 
    btw - I only had 1 gay male client under this program. All the rest were females who had been given HIV by their male partners, including husbands. 
  4. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Backroads in Would you list a mission on a resume?   
    Maybe along a similar line - Years ago, I was looking for shared office space to practice law. My resume at the time included working with the HIV/AIDS coalition of the city's bar association, doing estate work for this population. This was fairly early on, before the AIDS cocktail had started to change life expectancy. I had one guy tell me to take it off of my resume. People would wonder why I was associated with this group - was I gay? Did I have AIDS? Without a personal connection, why would I be working with these people? Would AIDS patients be coming into the office?
    I guess the idea of providing legal work for those who needed it was an ethical concept that escaped him. 
    btw - I only had 1 gay male client under this program. All the rest were females who had been given HIV by their male partners, including husbands. 
  5. Like
    dahlia reacted to Midwest LDS in Would you list a mission on a resume?   
    I have included my mission service on every resume or college application I've ever sent out. I do this for a few reasons. 
    A. I believe it shows my level of committment by demonstrating that I volantarily left home for 2 years to do something difficult.
    B. It shows I'm used to interacting with people about potentially difficult to talk about subjects, which actually went a long way to getting me my current job. 
    C. It let's my employers know a little bit more about me without them having to ask. If they are going to have a problem with me being a Latter-day Saint I'd rather they find out and not hire me, then have them give me grief later.
     
  6. Like
    dahlia reacted to Vort in Why Women Don’t Wear Pants to Church   
    Maybe I'm naive, but I doubt anyone would talk. I frankly doubt most people would notice. Those who did would tend to be the women, only because women are much more likely to notice anything about clothing than men are (in my experience), and would probably be more inclined to comment on style or color than on the fact that they were pants. People would have to be leading truly sad, dismal lives to sit around gossiping about a women who wore pants to Church.
  7. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Midwest LDS in Why Women Don’t Wear Pants to Church   
    A couple of weeks ago, our sister missionaries showed up at my door unexpectedly. 😓  I noticed that they were wearing pants. I thought this was great, but I also thought pants were only approved for sisters in locations where the Zika virus was present. Apparently that's not the case. In light of all the pants discussions that have been going on, I decided to be a good Mormon for once and ask my bishop about wearing pants to church. I'm not trying to start a revolution, I don't want to protest, I just wanna know. Long story short, he doesn't care. Just come to church. I specifically asked if I had to dress up for tithing meetings and temple recommends, which I have always done, and he said no. Thank goodness. It gets cold here. Sometimes I'd like to wear dress pants, as that is what I usually wear.
    We've always been welcoming to new people, no matter what they had on. I can't imagine anyone saying anything to my face if I wore pants one Sunday, but I wonder if people would talk amongst themselves?  
  8. Haha
    dahlia got a reaction from Just_A_Guy in Wine   
    Now that I have your attention...
    My understanding is that we can use wine in cooking. I enjoy cooking, but even before joining the Church, was not much of a drinker, so never kept wine around the house.
    I would like to start cooking with wine, which I've had in restaurant meals. Here's the problem. Wine seems to come in these big bottles. From my reading, you can't keep it around very long once it's open. It's not gonna last the two weeks it might take me to get to it again.
    If anyone here cooks with wine, what do you do with the remainder? Lots of recipes only call for a  cup or 2 of wine, plus you're told to buy regular wine, not cooking wine, which is full of salt. I'm cheap and don't want to spend $5-7 for a bottle just to throw most of it down the drain.
    On another note - so far retirement is weird. Around 9pm I still want to make my lunch for the next day. 
     
  9. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Manners Matter in Topics for Ministering Letters?   
    These are good ideas. I'm gonna admit that my first thoughts are not about the Scriptures, but about how the Church as a whole is a positive influence in my life. To the OP, if you find some applicable Scripture for everything else you're saying, fine, but sometimes people, especially less actives, just want you to talk to them, as individuals,  and don't want Scripture thrown at them. Back when we had home & visiting teachers, I enjoyed talking to them about adult things and adult living, work, local happenings, maybe Conference, etc. I'm so glad we got away from telling the same lesson to each other all around the ward.  That said, some people just don't want to be bothered any more. I gather from Sunday School that can be difficult for some LDS to believe.
  10. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Vort in Wine   
    Now that I have your attention...
    My understanding is that we can use wine in cooking. I enjoy cooking, but even before joining the Church, was not much of a drinker, so never kept wine around the house.
    I would like to start cooking with wine, which I've had in restaurant meals. Here's the problem. Wine seems to come in these big bottles. From my reading, you can't keep it around very long once it's open. It's not gonna last the two weeks it might take me to get to it again.
    If anyone here cooks with wine, what do you do with the remainder? Lots of recipes only call for a  cup or 2 of wine, plus you're told to buy regular wine, not cooking wine, which is full of salt. I'm cheap and don't want to spend $5-7 for a bottle just to throw most of it down the drain.
    On another note - so far retirement is weird. Around 9pm I still want to make my lunch for the next day. 
     
  11. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from Vort in Topics for Ministering Letters?   
    These are good ideas. I'm gonna admit that my first thoughts are not about the Scriptures, but about how the Church as a whole is a positive influence in my life. To the OP, if you find some applicable Scripture for everything else you're saying, fine, but sometimes people, especially less actives, just want you to talk to them, as individuals,  and don't want Scripture thrown at them. Back when we had home & visiting teachers, I enjoyed talking to them about adult things and adult living, work, local happenings, maybe Conference, etc. I'm so glad we got away from telling the same lesson to each other all around the ward.  That said, some people just don't want to be bothered any more. I gather from Sunday School that can be difficult for some LDS to believe.
  12. Like
    dahlia reacted to pam in Process for name removal and reinstatement   
    I'd follow his counsel too.     
  13. Like
    dahlia reacted to Vort in Joining the Church   
    I am constantly amazed that members of my former and present wards seem genuinely to like me. Helps me feel like I might actually one day be a denizen of Zion.
  14. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from NeuroTypical in Heart attacks are no fun   
    I'm sorry to here this, and happy you are here, too. For those who don't think about it, one of the best things you can do is to have regular aspirin in your purse or whatever guys carry. Keep them at home, and now that I think about, maybe in the kitchen/living room and wherever else you keep your meds in the house.  I retired last week and turned 66 yesterday - these things are on my mind. 
     True story - our research center was hosting an international conference. The dean of our program came by to welcome the attendees, and ended by saying he needed to get home to watch the election. This guy is a New Yorker and hyped up on his slow days. Anyway, I guess George Bush winning a 2nd term got to him , 'cause he had a heart attack. He had to step down as dean, but like you, was home soon. He taught and reduced his administrative work, got more exercise, and "made the necessary changes" until he retired a few years later. He is still enjoying an active retirement from what I see on FB.  I always think of that - there's no reason to get over excited by stuff - you don't want to give yourself a heart attack. 
    Stay well, Neuro.
  15. Like
    dahlia reacted to NightSG in In case you didn't know   
    I just go inside and use the table as a table.  Drive through line around the building, 1-2 people in line inside. If I get a shake the food will usually be headed to the table by the time I get there anyway. 
    Plus they have a place to wash your hands inside so your food doesn't get any extra earwax or well-used money flavoring. 
  16. Sad
    dahlia reacted to NeuroTypical in Heart attacks are no fun   
    So on Sunday, I had a big honkin' heart attack, complete with ambulance ride and stent.  I got home yesterday - 2 nights in a hospital after heart surgery is still hard to believe, but here I am.  Absolutely no prior warning that this was headed my way - none of the high risk factors applied.  Well, yay me, I'm now a statistic.  Fun things:
    - Complacency can be fatal.  If you find yourself clutching your chest, don't give in to the desire to say "I must have done something to my shoulder" or "weird heart burn".  Everyone is telling me the best thing that happened that day were those 4 baby aspirin in the first 30 minutes.   Lots of stories of "that guy" who did nothing for 6 hours, or until it happened again.
    - Emergency responders appreciate good-natured humor, as it gives them an understanding as to the patient's consciousness/alertness.  Everyone appreciates the opportunity to see fire fighters taking crap because they're not cops, they're not EMT's, and nobody is on fire, so why are they even here?  I did what I could to make it a fun call, and all the responders seemed to have a good time. Firemen have thick skins, it rolls off them easy.
    - Few things were more comforting than my neighbor showing up and saying "ya know, there are better ways to get attention", then giving me a blessing before they hauled me off.
    - Dang, medical science is cool.  Stent placement in like 5 minutes - and they had my family watching the big full color live-action monitors showing the lack of blood flow, then the stent, then everything getting better. 
    - ICU experience vs regular hospital: ICU gave me like a dozen different meds at different times.  "Hmm - the patient seems to have a slightly irregular eye blinking pattern.  I proscribe Iblinketol, and if it's still happening tomorrow, we'll start a regimen of Holycrapitol XR administered via IV".  Moving to a regular room and everyone was like "Huh - they list you as a high fall risk but you look ok.  Go take a shower and grab the call rope on your way down if there's a problem lol."  The regular nurses are probably still rolling their eyes and cancelling ICU orders.  No, I don't need a nose moisturizing cream because they gave me oxygen.  
    - By far, the scariest part of the whole thing, is the prospect of a no-meat diet.  But the more I read, the less that seems likely.  I can handle steamed veggies and learning to love bananas, as long as meat stays on the menu.  My fast-food double-bacon-cheeseburger days are now over.  It's not a tragedy, I'm just retiring at the top of my game after a successful and enviable eating career of all-you-can-eat pizza buffets and BBQ ribs.  Grilled fish is the new black.
    - Two types of people in my situation - those who make the necessary changes, and those who don't.  I know which type I'm gonna be.
    Happy to still be here!
  17. Haha
    dahlia reacted to anatess2 in Mormon retreats?   
    You can crash Girl's Camp. 
     
  18. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from NeuroTypical in Mormon retreats?   
    Hey gang -
    Well, I finally turned in my notice at work and plan to retire at the end of July. I've been thinking that I might want to do a retreat to break mentally from work and go into the different mental & spiritual state of retirement. I've been looking locally and it seems that a number of Catholic groups run retreats for individuals. Being a former Catholic, I don't have a problem going to one of these. I appear to be open to people of all faiths, seem relatively new-age-ish, and you can be left alone - no exposure to Catholic teachings. 
    I would like to read the BOM and maybe some other Mormon theology and just history of the Presidents; it would be great to do this in a retreat setting. Do Mormons have retreat centers? Do they do retreats? 
    What do people do who just want to take time out to recharge and be introspective?
    It's been awhile - how are y'all doing?
     
  19. Like
    dahlia reacted to Midwest LDS in Young, Wild, and Free: Should We Adopt An Amish Practice?   
    I like it, it makes a ton of sense to me. After all, why not encourage our children to make massive, gigantic mistakes that may permanently damage their testimony, lead to unwed pregnancies and spread STD's, and create severe and crippling addictions to drugs and alcohol? After all, we all know God winks at sin and that the commandments are just hide bound rules that we put in place to make life miserable.
    This is sarcasm just to be clear.
    There have been articles I have disagreed with before on Third Hour, but this is the first I've seen openly advocating violating the commandments of God. It's like saying you never know if staying sober is healthy unless you spend 2 weeks getting wasted first. 
    Having just finished the article, the author steers around and says it wouldn't work. But it almost sounds as if they are disappointed about it. It was really weird to structure the article that way.
  20. Like
    dahlia got a reaction from NeuroTypical in So How About Music?   
    I have a box full of tapes. It's gonna hurt me to throw them out, but I'm trying to downsize and I don't need a box of tapes following me into the afterlife.  At one point, I went through them and got the songs / albums I wanted on CD, so I don't think I'll lose any sleep.   
  21. Like
    dahlia reacted to unixknight in So um... I have an announcement.   
    My wife @Dollfacekilla and I have been married for 12 years.  
    And this coming Saturday...
    ...at the Philadelphia Temple...
    ...we're getting Sealed.  
    ..finally.  
    Just, ya know, thought some of you might like to know 
     
  22. Like
    dahlia reacted to unixknight in "Well Behaved Women . . . "   
    Same here.  A few years ago I was talking with someone and she laughed out loud when I commented that my wife joined a feminist group with a pro-life focus.  This person thought it was hilarious that someone could be pro-life AND consider herself a feminist at the same time.  Essentially playing gatekeeper.  If you don't pass this ideological test, you won't be taken seriously.
    That's intensely annoying.
  23. Like
    dahlia reacted to anatess2 in What is your ‘Adversity Score’ ?   
    Now... define "white male".
    Because, it can be argued that Barack Obama is a white male.
  24. Like
    dahlia reacted to Jamie123 in Speaking as a train-lover...   
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7059229/Mother-teenage-yob-smashed-model-railway-exhibition-says-mortified.html?ico=pushly-notifcation-small
    Oh yeah that's really going to teach them isn't it? They ought to be made to smash their own games consoles and mobile phones with a sledgehammer. Then they should be made to work night and day to buy mobile phones and games consoles - and then be forced to smash those as well. As for vodka, they should be force-fed an entire bottle - each.
    (Yes I know - I'm not being very Christian. But I used to be a model train enthusiast myself, back before I was married.)
  25. Like
    dahlia reacted to Just_A_Guy in Was life better before social media?   
    *My* life was not better.  I think most people’s lives were not better.
    But I think society as a whole may have been better off.  
    Sometimes what is good for us individually can be bad for us collectively.